Urban Sketchers at GPO

Good to see that artists have no qualms of sitting anywhere when they want to capture something interesting.

I am talking about the Pune Urban Sketchers who had a session at the Pune General Post Office.

This artist (Harshad) sat outside the premises but the red gate gave a good contrast to what he wanted to capture.

This is one of those old letter boxes from the British era which can be seen in front of almost all GPOs in India. I remember there was a board next to it saying that all letters posted in this box will have a "special cancellation stamp" on it. Wonder why they removed that sign.

Walking around the Post Office brought back memories, like this philatelic bureau from where I used to buy first day covers about five decades ago. (at that time it was situated on the left side of the entrance)

And these segregated boxes for Airmail / Local and rest of India. There was a time when the letters were delivered on the same day (if it was local) provided you post before the first collection at 7.30 am.

The age-old method of making gum by the Post Office as a "public service" is still being carried on. 

At the rear of the post office I noticed this wrought iron spiral staircase which still stands, but not in use.

Deepali has captured this well with her minimalistic but effective drawing.

Even though it was a Sunday, the sorting activity was in full swing and somebody did sketch them in action.

Sitting in the sunlight and creating a picture has its own advantages. (creativity while soaking in vitamin D)

One young man decided to capture the steeple of the 160 year old St Paul's church which was just across the road.

Participants were from all age groups and that is one way to discover the hidden talent in the young ones.

I like the improvisation done on this tripod whereby a board is attached to hold all the required material while painting, including a  packet of biscuit :-)

I was also fascinated by the medium of creating a picture. It may be a variety of colours with the modern pen or it may be charcoal.

Many in Pune are not aware of the existence of the Zero stone which is dug right in front of the GPO. (Pune was earlier called Poona)

The mandatory group photo at the end of the session. I was not very happy with this group photo as some of them were in the shade and some were directly under the sunlight (which is against the "rules" of clicking a group photo) But then I did not try to rearrange them as I knew this was a group who would be happy in creating a picture than being "in the picture" Good to see all of them smiling. 

Captured most of them in action and compiled it into a 12 minute video. All this activity reminded me of the Urban Sketchers I captured four years ago at the Botanical Survey of India. Something big is coming up for the Urban Sketchers in the first week of December. These three slides below will give you a better idea of the event. 

Schaumburg Illinois

They say that if you want to know the history of a place then have a look at the cemetery first. So one morning I pedaled down to the cemetery and found the origin of the name Schaumburg in Illinois.

The original 1842 township survey, names the grove as Sarah's Grove. Three families lived near a grove of woods on the northwest end of the township, and each family had a woman named Sarah (Sarah McChesney, Sarah Frisbe, and Sarah Smith)

At a township meeting in 1850, citizens debated new names for the town. A wealthy landowner named Friedrich Heinrich Nerge, at one point during the meeting, slammed his fist on the table and said in German, "Schaumburg schall et heiten!" ( "It will be called Schaumburg!"). At that point, the township became officially called Schaumburg

Above Black and White picture clicked by Duane Rapp

German was the first language of the majority of households until the 1950s.

The cemetery, with 2600 total grave sites, continues to receive burials today.

Lightning struck the church steeple on July 11, 1904, and set it on fire. The fire, which burned slowly downward, was extinguished by the bucket brigade.

But the steeple was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. The bell was cracked and made useless. In 1956 the Men's Club replaced the bell and memorialized the founders of the congregation by placing it as a monument on the front lawn of the church.

The Schaumburg Center School was one of the five public schools founded in Schaumburg Township in the 1870s.

Originally located at Schaumburg Road, northwest of Roselle Road, (and numbered as 54) it was moved in1981 and restored on its current site on St Peter Lutheran Church property.

This one room schoolhouse is owned by the Village of Schaumburg and is leased to Schaumburg Township Historical Society. Unfortunately I could not have a look inside as it was closed for repairs.

Made a short video of all that I could capture in the morning. The squirrel at the cemetery lawn was eyeing me suspiciously "should I share my breakfast with this guy on a bicycle?"

On the way back I noticed these birds (a Great Blue Heron and Swallow)  in the grove. (things that we don't notice when we zip past in a four wheeler)